Description

In 1939, young English naval signalman Geoffrey Holder-Jones began his career by surviving a German mine attack in the Thames estuary. World War II took him as naval officer to Iceland, the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, and the United States. Commissioned as a naval officer and given command of his own ship, Jones then patrolled the waters off Canada and Newfoundland before returning to Britain in 1944. This true story, written on the basis of personal conversations and a scrapbook entrusted to the author 60 years after the war, illuminates one of the great achievements of the war the beating of the German U-boat blockade of the American coast by squadrons of Allied ships that were little more than motley collections of armed trawlers and whalers. With a sense of humor and decency that sustained him through the ordeals of convoy duty in the Arctic Ocean, Signalman Jones has related his story to Tim Parker with vivid observations and an eye for the absurd.show more

About Tim Parker

Tim Parker was born in 1933, and his early memories include living in Stockport, near Manchester. While at Harrow School Tim joined the RNVR serving on London's HMS President, and two years later he was promoted to Midshipman RNVR. After National Service he held a variety of jobs included working for ICI and the Rank Organisation. In 2000 Tim started writing the regular 'Parker's Progress' column for the Brighton Argus. Tim lives in Brighton with his wife Beth, where they own a winery, one of the first in Britain. This is his first book. Geoffrey Holder Jones (1915-2011) served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in World War II where his bravery earned him the Distinguished Service Medal. He captained six different ships before retiring as a Lieutenant-Commander in 1966. He went on to become a teacher in the Brighton area and the headmaster of St. Andrew's Church School.show more

Table of contents

Foreword by Rear Admiral John Lippiett Preface A message from Signalman Jones Chapter 1: Early Years - Liverpool and the Great Depression Chapter 2: At last I go to sea - and on a battle cruiser Chapter 3: War Chapter 4: I go back to school and meet Gladys Chapter 5: Wastwater - the grim reality of war in the North Atlantic Chapter 6: Iceland, 1941 Chapter 7: Spitsbergen, summer 1941 Chapter 8: We lose our captain but find a submarine Chapter 9: Aberdeen, then back to the frozen north Chapter 10: Churchill and Roosevelt order Wastwater to America Chapter 11: New York, New York Chapter 12: The Caribbean Chapter 13: Canada Chapter 14: Blighty Chapter 15: My last command Chapter 16: Thirty-nine steps Tim Parkershow more